The trade provides the Angels with additional offense behind the plate and rounds out the team's offense with the kind of high-OBP hitter Dipoto expressed interest in earlier in the offseason. Iannetta posted a .238/.370/.414 line in 2011 and given his career line of .235/.357/.430 the Angels are likely expecting similar production in 2012.

Non-tender candidate Jeff Mathis is probably expendable now, whether that means the Angels trade him before the December deadline to tender arbitration eligible players contracts or cut him loose.

Chatwood, 21, posted a 4.75 ERA with 4.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 47% ground ball rate in 142 innings as a rookie for the Angels this past season. The 2008 second round pick entered the season as the 76th ranked prospect in MLB, according to Baseball America. He has a 3.40 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in parts of four minor league seasons.

The deal is Dipoto's first since being named the Angels' GM about a month ago. It's worth noting that he made the move with Dan O'Dowd, who was Dipoto's GM at the end of his playing career in Colorado. Dipoto made other significant trades as Arizona's interim GM in the summer of 2010.

197 Responses to Angels Acquire Iannetta From Rockies For ChatwoodLeave a Reply

This is a good move. Catchers who can hit are hard to find, not that this guy can rake. But fans need to be aware of the fact that there are a lot more Jeff Mathis’s out there than you might think. The market is full of them this offseason. Ianetta walks a lot too. That’s great for the bottom of the Angels order. As for Chatwood, let the Rockies develop 2nd years pitchers in their #4 spot. The Halos need a veteran there. And DiPito isn’t going to let the Angels remain 3 deep with Jerome Williams as the only remaining big league option. This also tells me Dipito could be going for a starting pitcher next.

Angel fans just need to pray that Iannetta’s plays more like he did in Colorado and a lot less like he did while on the road.

That said, Chatwood is no huge loss. His upside is extremely limited given his inability to miss bats. Control was shaky. He may eventually put it together but over the past few years he has done nothing but regress.

I predict that this will be a blah move for both parties. Not expecting anything big from either player. However, this does move Mathis out of the equation. For that, all Angel fans should rejoice.

Wrong, at least in my case. The guy made me nervous as F every time I watched him. I cut him some slack though because the only reason he was up in 2011 was because of Kaznobyl Meltdown 2.0 and Pineiro’s struggles. Same with Richards (who I think will be better). Talk of relying on the two of them plus Williams for 40% of the Angels’ starts in 2012 made my skin crawl, and I’ve made that known where I’ve seen it come up.

I get the cost control/years argument, but the Angels needed help at C more than they needed a guy who looks like he might be an average player in a year or two. Maybe they could have worked a better trade, but it’s not the end of the world.

do you think it’s unlikely that had he been permitted to pitch in AA like richards this year he could have put up a 3.7 FIP? he put up a 4.0 FIP in AA in 2010 while 2 years younger than richards was this year, i certainly don’t

if chatwood, like most 21 year old #2 organizational prospects, had been allowed to pitch in the minors last year and put up good numbers, would you still feel the same way about this trade?

maybe you would, but you’d be in the vast minority. i don’t even like chatwood myself, but his 2011 performance is being held against him unfairly here. he was playing way over his head and he still held his own. we generally give prospects a lot of credit for that

How is it a good move? Chatwood isn’t great or anything, but the Angels were better off signing Hernandez than trading Chatwood for Ianetta. If the Rockies get Hernandez to replace Ianetta, they are basically getting Chatwood for free then.

Not that bad of a trade. Chatwood isn’t projected to be much more than a ground ball lower end of the rotation pitcher (kind of like Saunders’ upside)- therefore he’s expendable. Iannetta is better than Mathis, though I feel his offense is a touch overrated (good on base percentage though).

more than 5 years of an org’s top 5 prospect who pitched a full MLB season at age 21? i don’t like chatwood much myself and i do like ianetta, but i doubt it they could have gotten much more for one year of him

I don’t see Chatwood being able to help the Rockies in 2012, so I do not see this move at all addressing this team’s immediate needs. This, to me, is a move for future years, and I wonder if O’Dowd is already giving up on 2012 before it even gets here.

“I wonder if O’Dowd is already giving up on 2012 before it even gets here.”

This was my first thought exactly. He’s basically throwing all of his chips in a rotation of very young guys: Pomeranz, Chatwood, White and Chacin. While hoping Arenado is MLB ready for 2013 and Rosario is ready for the full time job behind the dish by then as well.

Looks good for 2013 but I dont see this team being much of a contender in 2012.

O’Dowd has continually said his top priority is to get a veteran innings eater (which is what the Rox need more than any other position) and all the rumors which have been reported in the recent weeks have been about obtaining relievers, second basemen or a catcher (Hernandez).

What I was trying to get at was, this deal helps the Rox develop a young and very talented starting rotation for the future but it does not help them for 2012.

catchers walk alot in the NL because they hit in front of the pitcher. not sure what dipoto is thinking here. give conger the reigns and let him go already. sign CJ Wilson to something similar to Weaver or bring in Guthrie from Balt. Bring in K Rod or H Bell to close for the next couple of years. Done.

Why? Chat wuld be a great #2 starter and he is only 22..I have no idea who won this trade but to me looks like the Rox did…He isn’t something special but as long as Chris does what he did with the Rox i will Be satisfied

Well he is 22 and ya and the fact that we still have Richards,Shoemker,Reckling and Angels are known to get pitchers its fine….So as long as Chat doesn’t make a deal with the Devil..Angels should be winning on this trade..As long as Chris isn’t another Mathis in Angels Stadium..then Angels would really be screwed with a 2.3M Contract on Chris..Hope he at least hits BA .250+

I don’t think he will be a great #2 unless he makes some MAJOR adjustments….I am fine w/ this move b/c the Angels needed some production from the C spot and Conger IMO isn’t 100% ready to take over…I just hope the OBP he had hitting in front of a pitcher won’t drop off now in teh AL….not to mention his slg% going from hitter friendly Coors field to pitcher friendly Anaheim….

I completely agree. Conger proved last year that he isn’t ready to take over the job and I don’t get why people are up in arms about this deal. Conger is still plenty young, and having Iannetta around is going to have an immediate impact while also giving Conger more time to transition into the position.

When was this again 1 night ago? Did the Angels sign a Catcher 1 night ago? And when did i say that Angels don’t need pitching? I said if they would to trade Izzy it better be for a catcher because there is enough pitching with the Angels and on top of that there’s enough on the Market to buy 1 or 2 RP..Never never ever did i say Angels DON’T need pitching.. Now with Catcher checked off the list. Jerry can Focus to spend money on a starter,RP, or if he decides to go after Offense

I thought the same thing, Prog…if anyone goes I’d rather it be Hammel…if Rogers ever really truly gets it figured out he’ll be a solid #3/#4…hopefully they give White a full season to get acclimated to Coors/NL…

I don’t think Rogers is physically up for being a 190+ IP starter. He really looks to me like a guy who can make a productive career as a long-relief/spot-start sort of guy, though, and there’s value to having those sort of players on your roster.

i think ianetta’s going to be fine and i don’t even like chatwood personally, but it’s still a big win for the rockies. 5 years of young pitcher for 1 year of a catcher whose production you already replaced? very nice

Well Ianetta is definitely an upgrade over Mathis though, but as I and others have said, the Angels should have just kept Chatwood and signed Hernandez who has been better the past couple of years, despite being 7 years older.

Not really. Chatwood may be young and can develop more, but the Angels have a much better version of Chatwood in Garrett Richards. He really was expendable, and in the process DiPoto improved the catching position and the team’s OBP (it’s been awful the past two years, any improvement helps). I don’t think he’ll provide much home run power, but he will provide some gap production and walks, two things the team sorely needs.

…and could have gotten without giving up chatwood. you people are running in circles around the issue. it’s not that the 2012 angels need tyler chatwood, it’s about getting fair value for your resources

ianetta makes as much as ramon hernandez. in terms of projectable performance, they are virtually identical players. in addition to money, one costs 5 years of a young pitcher. the other one costs nothing other than money

assuming chatwood is nothing more than a back-end 2 WAR pitcher, that’s at least 10 WAR given away for no reason at all

Not really. Chatwood may be young and can develop more, but the Angels have a much better version of Chatwood in Garrett Richards. He really was expendable, and in the process DiPoto improved the catching position and the team’s OBP (it’s been awful the past two years, any improvement helps). I don’t think he’ll provide much home run power, but he will provide some gap production and walks, two things the team sorely needs.

lets be honest….we needed SOMETHING better back there. The trade market for catchers was AWFUL. Chatwood is not projected to be a legit rotation pitcher…a back end, Joe Saunders like pitcher at best. There are tremendous upsides to this trade.

1. Better OBP
2. Jeff Mathis is bye bye
3. C.J. Wilson (or another free agent and/or trade for a starting pitcher) will almost surely sign with us
4. Iannetta will mature playing for a WINNING team and under a catching coach

Personally, I don’t think this will make a huge difference for either team, but there are always upsides!

“Chatwood was expected to spend the majority of next season in AAA anyways.”

and he’d still be young for that level. nevermind the fact that he already pitched a full season in the bigs

you know who else will spend the majority of the season in AAA? dozens of other pitching prospects who also shouldn’t be given up for one year of an average catcher when you could have just signed a similarly average catcher for money alone

Yes…but he didn’t exactly blow the league away when he came up and wasn’t necessarily dominating the minors either. I won’t be surprised if he develops into a regular back-end starter, but some people here are acting like the Angels gave up Strasburg for Iannetta.

The Angels WILL have Weaver, Haren and Santana for at least the next two seasons, and it looks like they might add Wilson or someone else soon, too. I think they’ll be set SP wise for at least a few seasons.

if he had blown the league away at 21, he’d make a short list of one of the top talents in baseball. the fact that he didn’t set records doesn’t make him expendable. it’s not either strasburg or bum

i’m not arguing that the angels doomed their 2012 season. i’m saying there are seasons other than 2012 to consider here. giving away 5 seasons for 1 (of a catcher they could have just paid an extra $1M for!), they did not get fair value at all

if he had blown the league away at 21, he’d make a short list of one of the top talents in baseball. the fact that he didn’t set records doesn’t make him expendable. it’s not either strasburg or bum

i’m not arguing that the angels doomed their 2012 season. i’m saying there are seasons other than 2012 to consider here. giving away 5 seasons for 1 (of a catcher they could have just paid an extra $1M for!), they did not get fair value at all

Yes…but he didn’t exactly blow the league away when he came up and wasn’t necessarily dominating the minors either. I won’t be surprised if he develops into a regular back-end starter, but some people here are acting like the Angels gave up Strasburg for Iannetta.

The Angels WILL have Weaver, Haren and Santana for at least the next two seasons, and it looks like they might add Wilson or someone else soon, too. I think they’ll be set SP wise for at least a few seasons.

I think it’s pretty funny that some people are saying Chatwood isn’t going to be a good pitcher based on his stats from this season. He is a 21-year old going up against experienced major leaguers. Give it time.

I don’t care about either of these teams, but people who think Ianetta only walked because he was behind the pitcher would be wrong. He walked in 15% of PA in the 8th spot and 12.8% in his career in every other spot. Sure, there’s the chance that they walk him to get to the pitcher increased that the 2.2%, but are you going to complain that much about a difference in 7-10 walks over 450 PA?

Even if he hits against righties and lefties… he’s an improvement over our catching situation last year.

Can’t argue with improving the team… Chatwood was a 4th or 5th starter at best and probably will be better in the NL. Didn’t have overpowering stuff — yes he’s young, but totally replaceable. Garrett Richards, on the other hand, looks FREAKING awesome.

I think we will be able to replace Chatwood, even with his team-friendly contract. I honestly don’t know of another player on the Angels MLB Roster that would’ve got this deal done that seems more fair.

Ianetta will get the majority of starts this year behind the plate but I see more of an even split late in the year. Catcher rips players up, you need to platoon the position to get any longevity out of players. Good move Angels.

Iannetta’s final 2012 line is going to be very similar to his 2011 line.

I don’t think most people understand the adjustment that Rockies’ hitters have to make when they go on the road in terms of additional movement on pitches. No player on any other team has to deal with that, and it’s a real difference.

This is honestly one of those trades that both sides win. Rockies basically got Chatwood for nothing what with Hernandez signing with them. I’ll admit I have no clue what the quality of the Rockies minor league pitching looks like, but an addition like Chatwood can only benefit them. Sure his ceiling is fairly low, a #3 or #4 guy at best, but at 21 he has time to still overcome the learning curve. As for the Angels, Iannetta is a HUGE upgrade at the position, BA be damned. I understand that he his home/road splits are ugly, but I really like his OBP. Not only does he hit for power, he also draws walks. Nobody’s expecting Mike Piazza, all that the Angels really need out of the catcher spot is getting on base.

It seems like most people don’t need convincing that the Rockies got a good deal, yet a lot of people are calling the Angels losers in this trade. They honestly didn’t lose considering what they gave up. The argument that the Angels are losing their pitching depth isn’t all true. Looking at their minor league system, they have several guys who put up the same numbers as him, i.e. Garret Richards, Trevor Reckling, etc. Chatwood is serviceable, but really expendable for the Angels. And don’t even get me started as an Angel fan of the relief I felt when I saw this trade. Not only does it mean an almost immediate upgrade, it also means Dipoto is fully aware of the team’s holes and will do whatever he can to fix it. He tried for Hannigan, to no avail, and I’m sure a 4.75 era pitcher will draw a high-caliber player, so Dipoto really got the best that he could. We just can’t afford Hernandez.

“Nowhere in the post does it say that Chatwood is available to be traded
for Ianetta who is probably not even worth trading major league ready
talent for. I’d make this trade for a prospect or a PTBNL.”

go back and look at Miguel Olivo’s 2009 and 2010 splits he went from a 850 road OPS in the AL Central to a .538 Road OPS with the Rockies, Home/Road splits are not indicative of Rockies true talent level

Unfortunately as and Angels, I don’t know if we do this as much as we give too much credit to our “top” prospects. I mean in past they have not always come to be. The majority of our prospects that have panned out are very seldom referred to as our “top” prospects with the exception of Weaver.

I liked Napoli and Chatwood and I thought they were both important pieces for you guys. Its like everything goes in a circle, getting Wells cost you guys Napoli, Rivera, and Chatwood, so now you guys have a solid catcher which you guys already had in Napoli.

Napoli was far from solid w/ the Angels…he had shoulder issues and could only throw out 25% of base stealers….the pitchers era when he was in the game was a run higher then the weak hitting Mathis…despite his HR totals they were usually in blow out games(up or down so basically meaningless) w/ no one on….he was bad w/ risp…

To be honest I think he put too much pressure on himself to please Scioscia….once w/ the Rangers he was able to relax and it showed in his footwork and CS%….

Had Well not tanked this past season the trade wouldn’t have looked bad…but b/c Naps new found success and Wells horrid year just makes the trade appear more of a flop….BUT I will say that I’m not judging the trade just after this 1 season…lets see if Wells rebounds and if Nap maintains….as for Rivy….he was out the door regardless….

I admit I was initially perplexed… While I never thought Chatwood was an ace in the making, he did have his moments in 2011 (almost threw a CG shutout against Baltimore, if I remember off the top of my head). Plus, ace or not, he’d most likely be the fifth starter in 2012, barring any pitching acquisitions (which probably will happen). And it’s not like the Angels have a surplus of Major League ready arms right now.

That being said , even if Iannetta were to only match his ‘away’ numbers from 2011, he’d still be a vast improvement over Mathis. And the Angels do have some strong prospects in the lower levels of the minors (Ariel Pena comes to mind), and they also have Trevor Bell in AAA, who gives them almost the exact same things as Chatwood. So… I don’t think the Angels are losing anything they’ll sorely miss… it’s not like they traded Chatwood for a $20 million/year outfielder, or something…

The Angels also have Garret Richards, who by the end of the year, actually got the same level as Chatwood development-wise. Also, not to sound like a sore lose or anything but, Richards has better pitches than Chatwood. For their current pitching depth, I would say a mixture of Richards and Jerome Williams, who was unhittable in the time he played last year, would suffice behind Weav/Haren/Santana. For the long run, like you said, the Angels have some flame-throwers in the low-levels. There’s Ariel Pena, and there’s also a really exciting pitcher in John Hellwig. He sucked as a reliever, but when converted to a starter he pitched to the tune of a 2.12 era in Single-A. Just someone to look out for.

Conger still needs some time to develop….he’ll split time w/ Iannetta….Ianetta/Conger in ’12 is going to be way better then Mathis/Conger of ’11…

Napoli IMO had a monkey on his back (Scioscia)….Nap put tooo much pressure on himself to be perfect for Scioscia and made mistakes…once w/ the Rangers he was able to relax and his footwork and CS% improved….also remember he still only caught 60g in Texas…(18 dh/35 1b)

As opposed to holding on to that “upside”, sitting it in the minors for at least another year, and hoping that it turned into something? The Angels have built a reputation on holding onto prospects for too long. I’m surprised that Chatwood evokes this much response from the community, to be honest.

Oh boy, I do not like this move at all. I guess the Angels still have Richardson and Weaver, Santana are both fairly young so they’ll have depth for the next couple of years. However, I watched every game that Chatwood pitched this last season and the kid, when settled down, was good. It was all mental for him, not talent. Don’t bs me with his stats, watch clips of him. 3 years and he will be as good as a Santana/Oswalt(3 years ago). You can’t give away a talent like that for a catcher who hits terribly on the road and has a decent OBP because he’s in the National League in front of a pitcher. Anytime there are 2 outs, the 8 hole usually gets intentionally walked or pitched around. I’d rather of just kept Chatwood and let Conger have a chance. They don’t have much to trade for a power 3rd base anymore, unless Dipoto gives up Bourjos. I pray that he doesn’t. Dipoto, strike 1.

its a 50-50 trade,ianetta is an ok catcher just like chatwood is a ok pitcher,the best i see chatwood improving is a couple knotches below buerhle.besides we have garrett richards,trevor reckling,cam bedrosian, and fabio martinez in the minors we can afford this trade.

Question…how many fans of other teams actually know what Chatwood’s upside is? He’s likely to settle in as a #4 starter or will end up in the bullpen. Richards has better stuff and a higher ceiling….they already have Weaver, Haren, Santana. This move isn’t going to set them back. IF there is one thing the ANgels have excelled at in recent years, it’s pitching. Chatwood has a good curve and that’s about it. The fastball has good velocity but it is his worst pitch and he throws it 75% of the time! For reference, Justin Verlander, who has one of the best fastballs in the game, only used his 57% of the time. Unless Chatwood drastically improves and uses his secondary offerings more, he’s not going to be very successful. Iannetta helps improve the Angels dramatically just for the fact that he’ll be replacing Mathis. Iannetta was a 3.3 WAR player last year, whereas Mathis was -1.0 WAR. This move alone is pretty much a 3 win swing and at a very low cost. Doesn’t add much payroll at all and they can now focus on adding more SP/RP…perhaps even working other trades

As far as just signing Hernandez…did anybody take a look at his 2nd half splits? The guy is up there in age and really declined sharply in the 2nd half

I find it very interesting that when this trade was being rumored a day ago or so, Angel fans were saying “no way on Chatwood, that would be a huge overpay, etc” and as soon as this trade happens everyone is ripping him.

Its news to me that a 22 year old has a bad rookie season and cant turn it around. For him to be making his debut at 21, clearly the Angels saw a lot of promise in him.

They like him yes but they also didn’t really have any other alternatives. They are very thin as far as upside goes at the higher levels in their minors…so rushing Chatwood and Richards was what they did as they were the only 2 arms at the higher levels that have any promise/upside. I’m not ripping on Chatwood. He has good velocity on his fastball and good sink, he has a really good curve and a solid to average changeup. His upside is a #3 starter…but he’ll have to improve and incorporate those offspeed pitches more if he’ll ever reach that. Unfortunately, breaking balls don’t break as much in Coors, so his best pitch being a curve doesn’t really bode well for him. I think he settles in more as a quality #4 starter…or a good bullpen arm

It must be awesome To speak your
Mind and yell at every single person that doesn’t share whatever weAk opinion your offering for the day…
It’s even better that you hide behind a screen and
That you take comfort in the fact people don’t
Know who you are… people are always tuff and opiniated when there are no consequences…
The Internet is the perfect place for you Joe wright..
U can be a loud jerk and no one will ever know it was you! Congrats!!!

Yah, because I’m going to log onto several accounts just to hit the like button on a single comment. Do you realize how moronic you look by saying that? And who cares if it sounds like something someone would say in the 90s. If that’s the case, I’m bringing it back.

Well Ill say he is an average catcher but nothing more. It’s not that the trade was terrible, but for a front office decision its a poor choice. Keeping Chatwood and signing Ramon Hernandez would have been the Much better move